Love Test
by ClosetFMAfan
Summary: Alphonse Elric had never been one to write in books. He preferred taking notes on a separate sheet of paper. Or his notebook, depending on what the book was. Apparently the last owner of this textbook had had no such inhibitions though. He or she had written all over the book. Well that was what he got for buying an alkahestry textbook online for 40 dollars.


Alphonse Elric had never been one to write in books.

He preferred taking notes on a separate sheet of paper. Or his notebook, depending on what the book was. He had entire notebooks just dedicated to his medical and alchemic research. Considering he was studying medical alchemy, that made a lot of sense.

He supposed it was just the way he was brought up. His brother, who had already graduated with a degree in mineral alchemy, was the same way, so was their father. Or at least that was what they could tell from the entire shelf of alchemy notes he had left behind. There wasn't a single scribble in the books on the opposite shelves though.

The appeal was real enough, he supposed. You had your notes right there, there was no need to go searching through hundreds of pages looking for any information or thoughts. You just had to know vaguely where in the book you had gotten a particular thought. He just didn't like having to squeeze his notes in the margins and to be perfectly honest, he didn't like seeing all of those notes getting in the way of the text. It was distracting.

Apparently the last owner of this textbook had had no such inhibitions though. He or she had written all over the book.

"I guess that's what I get for buying an alkahestry textbook for $40 online," he muttered as he stared at the thing. It had only been last week when he was picking out classes for his final two semesters that his counselor reminded him that he had to take a class in Alkahestry if he wanted to graduate. Since it was basically Eastern medical alchemy that made sense he supposed, but at the same time he hadn't even realized that was a class he had to take.

He flipped open to the inside cover and noted the name and address of the previous owner on the cover.

"So it's Mei that I can blame for all of this," he muttered, thumbing through a few pages. There wasn't a single one that wasn't marked up in some way. "Lovely."

For right now though, he didn't quite need it. There was however, a paper on carbon compounds due in about three hours he hadn't started on yet in the haste of trying to switch classes to Theoretical Alkahestry with Mr. Hishu.

His first class was… interesting. You would think that having studied medical alchemy for nearly eight years now, nothing they threw at him would be able to confuse him, but the Professor starting going on about _qi_ and feeling the flow of the earth, which had Al completely lost for the rest of the lesson. And he hadn't been the only one in the class.

They were assigned the first seventy-five pages of the textbook and a ten page essay on the contents, due at the beginning of the next lesson.

It was at about that point that Alphonse resigned himself to never passing grad school.

"'The Dragon's Pulse, or _qi_, or chi, or Earth's Pulse—' How many phrases are there to describe this thing?" he muttered as he read out loud. It helped him focus when he was completely lost.

He reread the first paragraph about seven times before his eyes finally got so bored with reading the same words that they drifted over to the comment written at the top of the chapter title.

'_Qi is the very energy that connects us all – it's not some magical power like he makes it out to be. If you're alive, you're connected. You're a part of it. Reading qi is just learning to recognize that.'_

Al frowned at the comment. If you're alive, you're connected. It's the energy that connects us all. So… did that mean it wasn't too different from All is One, and One is All? You had to be able to answer that question to even be admitted to Professor Izumi's Alchemy Fundamentals class, Freshman year. And if you didn't take Alchemy Fundamentals, it was more or less impossible to take the rest of the classes required for any sort of degree in Alchemy.

He went back and reread the first paragraph looking at it from the next context and to his complete delight, the entire paragraph made sense. In fact he even managed to make it through the first page.

He turned the page and found an entire paragraph circled with a reference to be a page in another book. A book he happened to own. Al dropped the book on his desk and crossed his dorm room to the opposite wall to search through his collection, then plucked it off the shelf.

Page 142 was a discourse on the interaction between the soul and body. He stared closer at the page of the Alkahestry book, then grinned.

Any and all annoyance he had ever felt for this person, Mei, had completely disappeared.

Every time for the next few hours as he struggled to get through the textbook, he would search for the nearest comment and, after maybe backtracking a page or two to read the other comments, it would begin to make sense. Sometimes the comments were so wonderfully helpful he felt as if he had his own tutor living there in the pages of the book helping him make sense of the complicated processes.

And as he began to look at the comments even when he wasn't confused he noticed that not all of them were helpful explanations. There were more references to other books, some of which he owned and some that he didn't. There were also some plain comments about the validity of one point or, these were probably his favorite, dry comments about the author or the way he wrote the book.

He didn't even realize that he had already reached the hundredth page, well over the seventy five page requirement. And it was nearly two in the morning.

"Wow," he breathed, then touched his fingers to the pages of the book.

Then he flipped to the front cover again.

_Mei Chang_

_20213 Tifeng St,_

_Qianxun, Chang Providence_

_Xing_

There wasn't a phone number or any sort of email that he could contact her quickly by. The person he had bought it from online had gotten it from someone else themselves. All the same he felt as if he needed to say or do something. He didn't know who this Mei was, but she had helped him to make sense of all of this and he owed her all of his thanks.

So despite the fact that it was nearly two and he had a ten page essay due by the end of the week and class in the morning, he pulled out a sheet of paper and scribbled her name at the top.

_Dear Mei Chang,_

_My name is Alphonse Elric, I'm a 24 year old grad student at Central University's Department of Alchemy. For part of my Master's Program I have to take an Alkahestry Fundamental's class and I bought the accompanying textbook online. It turns out it was your textbook. _

_Well anyways, I just wanted to thank you. I didn't understand a single word Professor Hishu was going on about when I was in class and I tried to read the first few pages without understanding anything. But your comments in the margins of the book helped me understand it all so much more. You might be the only reason I pass this class._

_I just didn't want to go without thanking you, so here I am thanking you even though I have a paper due later this week and it's really late at night._

_Also, I noticed that you've references a couple of really good books in the margins. I've read a couple of them (_Might, Mind and Strength_ is one of my absolute favorite books about the relationship between the body and the mind) but not all of them. I'm planning on looking a couple of them up in the library. Do you have any suggestions of other books I could look at that might help me with the topic a bit more? I don't mind challenging books. It's just this textbook was a bit over my head._

_Thank you so much,_

_Alphonse Elric._

He signed his name as nicely as he could (he had never been entirely happy with his handwriting, a side effect from some muscular dystrophy he had suffered when he was 14, the muscles in his fingers never quite reworked themselves to the fine motor skills like writing neatly) and folded the letter in half. He would have to find an envelope and stamps tomorrow morning. For now all, the best he could do was tuck the letter in the book as a bookmark, turn off the lamp by his bed, and fall asleep without even changing or getting underneath the covers.

* * *

He posted the letter on Wednesday, not sure if he would ever get a reply. So it was much to his surprise when a week later he found a letter addressed to him in the same neat handwriting he had found in his book. It was a bit different, probably the effect of having grown up.

He grinned and opened the letter as soon as he reached his room, ignoring the welcome from his roommate.

_Dear Alphonse Elric,_

_I was very surprised to hear from you. I'm so happy that my notes helped you to understand alkahestry a little better. I went to Central University to study alchemy as an undergrad, and then I transferred to a school here in Xing to get my Masters in Alkahestry. That class was one of the worst experiences of my life if I'm going to be honest. Master Hishu is a genius, but his heart really isn't in teaching alchemy students a required course on the fundamentals of alkahestry. So that makes his class really hard to understand. Since I was planning on getting a masters in alkahestry anyways, he was a lot more sympathetic towards me. He even gave me a recommendation to one of the best schools for alkahestry here in Xing._

_So I'm happy to help. If you ever need any more help understanding any concepts that you can't figure out from what I scribbled in the margins of that textbook, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to explain. I'm always happy to help anyone understand alkahestry a little better._

_As for recommendations for books, I've just recently been reading this wonderful book, _To Be Alive Is to Feel – Thoughts About What It Means to Live_, about what it means when we classify something as alive and how that relates to the flow of qi. It might be a bit hard to understand if you're only learning the basics of alkahestry and qi but at the same time if you're the type of person who like to understand the deeper concepts of something, it might help you to understand. I'm love it so far. A good book for beginners is _The Flow of Life_ by Wiewu Liufang. They should have it in the University Library. It might be a bit harder to get your hands on _Sleeping with Dragons_ by Pian Fei, but it's also a really good one._

_Good luck with your paper and your classes!_

_Mei_

Al grinned at the paper and on the spot decided that he wanted to write back to her. That very moment. He pulled out a pad and decided to address it exactly as she had signed off hers:

_Mei,_

_I have to say I was surprised to hear back from you. I'm not sure if I would have written back to some stranger who told me that they had bought one of my old textbooks, but I'm very glad you did._

_Because you wished me luck, I feel obliged to tell you that I got one hundred percent on the paper I turned in to Master Hishu. He said that the last time he had given anyone that much credit for the first essay, he had ensured she got accepted to one of the most prestigious colleges in Xing to study alkahestry. I'm guessing that was you. Well, I never would have been able to do it without you, so thank you very much!_

_If it means getting that much on my papers from now on and you don't mind, I will definitely be talking to you more about alkahestry. And I also find myself becoming more interested the more I study it. It seemed dreadfully boring when I first started learning, but the more I read the textbook (and the more I read your comments) the more interested I becoming in it for its own right._

_One of the questions I do have is about the way qi flows through the earth, I'm a bit confused about that. I understand the concept that we're all connected, even to the plants and everything. But if that's the case, then how would the qi travel through the ground itself? That's what the textbook make it seem like. Wouldn't it instead travel through their air as direct connections between living things? What about areas where the ground is entirely barren?_

_I'm going to go check out those books right now, they sound fascinating! You said that you had an undergrad in alchemy, right? Have you ever read _Modern Thoughts on the Mind _by Helmer Nemoy? It's a really uncreative title, but the thoughts in it are incredible. My bother suggested it to me about two weeks ago and I finished it in two days. You should checked it out._

He tapped his pen against his chin, then added as an afterthought:

_What's your favorite color?_

_Al_

That letter was posted the very next hour, and instead of getting to work on his homework, Al found himself staring at her letter and rereading it a few times. He went straight to the library after writing a few answers to the chemical formulas he was supposed to be correcting and checked out the book she had suggested. After doing that he started searching online for the other one she suggested. It was a little pricey, but he had just been told he was going to be getting more hours at his job soon, so it wasn't too bad.

In her next letter, received the next week on a Thursday, started with addressing his question.

_There's a whole school of thought in alkahestry that view the earth as a living thing itself. Yes it is nonliving as in the fact that the rocks and minerals that make up the ground are not alive. But the embodiment of the earth itself is very much alive. I think there's even a similar concept in alchemy. In alchemy, it is almost universally accepted that everyone is born with the innate ability to perform alchemy called the Gate. It's because of that that you are able to perform alchemy. But some people also believe that there is a Gate in the world, and if you can open that you have the power to access the power of God or Truth itself._

_Well in alkahesty, it's a bit similar, but for us it's the fact that you are alive and are connect to qi that allows you to be able to perform alkahestry. If it's possible for both to be right, say that the 'Gate' comes with all living things, just that humans are the only creatures that have been able to tap into that flow._

_But there would be no way for the earth to have a gate if it wasn't in some way alive right? That's basically what the idea behind it is. The earth itself is an organism. And it does make sense in a way if you think about it. The human body is made up of all individual living cells and layers and systems and the earth is made up of the same. So even if the earth itself isn't breathing or that it's made up of individual inorganic compounds, that doesn't mean it can't have a qi signature. The elements that make up our bodies don't have a qi signature either, but we do._

_I hope that made sense instead of confusing you even more._

She continued to go on about the book that Al had suggested, about how she had already read it and loved it so much. Then she asked him if he had read another book that he actually had read and suggested another he hadn't. He had actually managed to make it through the book she had suggested and the other one was supposed to be arriving any day.

At the very bottom before her farewell though,

_And my favorite color is pink. Have you ever tried Xingese food?_

They continued to exchange letters like this for an entire year, each time talking more about alkahesty and alchemy. They began to exchange more information about themselves. Mei was Xingese, she had grown up there. When she was a girl though, he father had sent her away to Amestris to study so even though she had lived in Xing for most of her life, she had studied here.

He talked to her about growing up in Resembool with an absent father and eventually no mother. He and Ed had practically raised themselves with the help of Pinako Rockbell, a friend of the family. He told her all about how his brother was head over heels in love with their childhood friend, but too stubborn to say anything to her. He told her about how nervous he was when he learned he had been accepted to Central University, the country's most prestigious university and one of the best colleges to study alchemy at in the world, at only 16. Then again, his brother had been accepted at 12.

They even started working on his dissertation together. The idea struck him in the middle of a letter and he stopped mid-sentence to begin talking to her about it.

Her response came the fastest it ever had before, full of advice and books to look up. Within a week he had an introductory chapter and showed it to Professor Hishu.

It was the first time he ever saw the man look dumbstruck.

"I have never seen anything like this, young man…"

"Is it good?"

"… It's brilliant."

Al grinned.

Between the three of them, it seemed like the dissertation just wrote itself. Alphonse had never had ideas flow to his mind and to the paper so fast before. Over the process it seemed like he and Mei became even more in tuned to each other's thoughts, to the point where a thought would occur to him and he'd send a letter that would reach her about the same time her letter reached him about the same topic.

It wasn't until they were starting to discuss revision and Mei finished off her letter with a musing about the fact that they had become so close despite the fact that they had never met each other that Al realized that he had fallen in love with her.

He realized that it was crazy, falling in love with someone he had never even met. He actually didn't know much about her at all. He knew her favorite color and her favorite authors and the way she thought about the world. He loved the way she thought about the world, with such a determination to do good in the world and do right by everyone she interacted with. But he didn't know what color her hair was, or her eyes, or even how old she was. Every time he had tried to suggest they FaceTime or Skype, she always came up with some excuse or flat out turned him down.

For all he knew, Mei could be old enough to be his mother. Her textbook had had time to go through at least two previous owners before reaching him, which meant she was had to have taken the class at least three years ago. But she had already gotten a Masters in Alkahestry which mean that it had to have been four or five years ago. And there was every possibility that it was longer ago.

All the same, he couldn't ignore the way his heart hammered in his chest whenever he realized he had gotten another letter from her. They always made him smile. They were thoughtful, intelligent, playful, and she always managed to surprise him.

So when she sent him the letter with her congratulations about having received his degree with full honors and even a promise from one of the Professors who reviewed it to get it published, he sent her back another letter informing her of his attention to come to Xing and meet her.

Her response was simple.

7 o'clock on May 16th in the Qianxun train station. She would be wearing a pink rose in her hair.

Al's heart was hammering in his chest as he got off the train at 7 o'clock precisely in Qianxun.

This was it.

For better or worse, he would be meeting her today.

Al glanced from side to side at the crowd, searching for anyone. It wasn't very busy, as Mei had told him it wouldn't be. Qianxin wasn't a very popular destination, it was mostly just people traveling to and from home. There were maybe ten to a dozen people milling about in the train station.

He straightened the bright red tie he had promised to wear to identify himself and moved further into the crowd. A group of three men stood in a corner discussing destinations. A mother with a baby on her hip stared at the train schedule, thankfully without a rose in her hair. A couple that was feeding each other some sort of food he didn't recognize. An upset looking man in a suit, glancing at his watch. Two children chasing each other in circles.

Sitting on a bench very near to the exit of the train station was a beautiful young woman. She had tons of dark hair all twisted into braids on top of her head. Her outfit was bright pink which made Al's heart leap in his chest. She was wearing pink! Pink was Mei's favorite color. He opened his mouth to smile at move towards her, but at the same time he did so she seemed to see him. Then she stood and walked towards him.

Al grinned, shouldering the bag he had slung over his shoulder.

As she approached though, he saw the woman who was sitting next to her. An older woman, with greying curly hair in dark green. She was rather plump with a sad looking face. And she was wearing a pink hat with a rose sticking out of it.

The beautiful woman walked right by him, smiling.

He felt his mouth go dry.

He turned to watch her go, the looked across the way at Mei who was still sitting there at the bench. She saw him staring and smiled. No doubt she had recognized the red tie.

He couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. After all, he had been in love with her. This woman though… even if he couldn't love her as a romantic interest… she was still one of the best friends he had ever had. And he was dying to talk to her in person about the book she had had him read on the train ride over here.

So he put the beautiful girl out of his mind and walked directly over to Mei, bowing when he finally approached her.

"You must be Mei Chang. My name is Alphonse Elric… And I'd love to take you to dinner. We have a lot to talk about."

She raised an eyebrow, but then shook her head and gave him a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered. "But that lovely young woman that just left me and asked if I would wear this hat, even though he doesn't match what I'm wearing. She said that if you were to ask me to dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting in the big restaurant across the street."

Al's jaw dropped, staring at her.

"She said it was some kind of test."

"You mean… you're not Mei."

"I don't even know who that is. You're welcome to take me to dinner, though. My husband might object if you do, though."

He slowly grinned, then hung his head. "I'm terribly sorry, ma'am. I wouldn't want to upset your husband."

"Of course not," she said with a sly smile. "Now go on and meet that young lady. She nearly jumped out of her seat when she saw you."

The grin widened. He thanked the woman, then hurried out of the train station and across the street. Across it, in front of the restaurant, stood the woman dressed in pink. Her eyes seemed to be shinning when she saw him approach her.

"Mei?" he asked, hesitant smile.

She responded with a full one. "Al."

"May I take you to dinner? I think we have a lot to talk about."

Her smiled widened and she nodded.

Al grinned, then grabbed her hand and together they entered the restaurant.

* * *

**My submission for the 2015 AlMei Valentine's Day Competition on DeviantArt. The theme is 'Love' and when I heard this story (a true story about John Blanchard and Holly Maynell - well not the alchemy textbook part, it was actually a book of poetry bought at a used bookstore shortly before WWII) in my English class on Thursday I knew that I had to adapt it for AlMei and submit it. Hope you liked it!**

**And if you have any time, the competition IS STILL OPEN. We have some cool prizes, you can get a fic written by me or a full art from arl-phonse. And so far I'm the only person who's submitted anything. So literaly, you could write a DRABBLE or draw a simple SKETCH and get second prize. Or you could put in some effort and get first place instead of me. It's literally up for the taking. Just SOMETHING. Go ahead. PLEASE. Give AlMei the love they deserve. Deviant Art. AlMei group**


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